Interchangeable combination carrier and suitcase



Dec. 20, 1938.

A. B. COHN I 2,140,688

INTERCHANGEABLE COMBINATION CARRIER AND SUITCASE Filed April 6,. i937 CIIIIIILZIQQ wig/w ALEXA/V051? 5. COH/V.

INVENTOR. v

' ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 20, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INTERCHANGEABLECOMBINATION CARRIER. AND SUITCASE Claims.

This invention relates to an interchangeable carrier and suit case whichmay be carried in the hand in an ordinary manner, or which may besupported upon wheels or casters and attached to the human body.

A feature of the invention resides in a novel construction whereby thedevice, when supported upon wheels or casters and attached to the humanbody, may be moved in any direction by movement of the body and withoutthe use of the hands.

Another feature of the invention resides in a novel construction wherebythe device may be transformed from either of its forms to the other formwithout disturbing the contents thereof.

Other features of the invention will become apparent as the naturethereof is better understood and reference will now be had to thefollowing specification and claims and theaccompanying drawing, inwhich:

Figure l is a perspective view of the device used as a carrier in whichuse it is supported on wheels or casters and is attached to the humanbody,

Figure 2 is a view in end elevation thereof,

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, taken substantiallyon the line 3-3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view,

Figure 5 is a view in elevation illustrating the device in the form inwhich it may be carried in the hand, and;

Figure 6 is a detail longitudinal sectional view.

In the drawing, the reference character C, designates a receptacle whichmay be of any desired form. D designates a bearing or guide of whichthere is preferably one at each end of the receptacle C.

Slidable with each of the guides, D, there is a sleeve, Hi, and slidablein each of the sleeves, Hi, there is a jointed member which performs thedouble function of a supporting leg and a portion of a carrying handle.

Each of these jointed members comprises two sections, H and i2, hingedtogether as at i3, see Figure 4.

As best shown in Figure 3 of the drawing, when the tubular members, 10,are extended as shown in full lines in said figure, a spring catch, i5,engages in a notch in the upper end of the tubular members to hold themextended and when the tubular members, I0, and the jointed members arein the position in which they are shown in dotted lines in said Figure3, a spring catch l8 engages in a notch, 20, in the caster bearing 2! tohold them in the upper position.

When the parts are in the upper position, the members, i2, may be swungabout their pivotal points, l3, and locked or held against pivotal 5movement about their pivotal points, l3. In this last mentionedposition, the members, l2, form a handle by which the device may beconveniently carried.

When the tubular members, I0, and the jointed 10 members are extended,as illustrated in full lines in Figure 3, the weight of the receptacleand its contents is supported upon the jointed members which carrycasters, 30, on their lower ends. In this arrangement of the parts, thedevice is adapted to be attached to the human body and for this purpose,the receptacle may be provided with an eye, 3!, which is engaged by ahook, 32, carried by a belt, 33, adapted to surround the body of aperson, as shown in Figure l.

When the device is attached to the body, as shown in Figure 1, it may bemade to travel in any direction desired merely by movement of the body,leaving the hands of the person to which the device is attached free forother purposes.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present inventionprovides a device which may be carried by a person in his hand, orsupported upon legs to render it more easily portable.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, is:

1. A device of the class described comprising in combination, areceptacle, a guide mounted upon each end of the receptacle and asupporting leg slidable in each said guides, each of said supportinglegscomprising hinged sections adapted to fold over the receptacle to form acarrying handle therefor.

2. A device of the class described comprising in combination, areceptacle, a guide mounted upon each end of the receptacle, asupporting leg slidably mounted in each of said guides, each of saidsupporting legs comprising two hinged sections, the combined length ofthe two upper sections being substantially equal to the length of thereceptacle whereby the said upper sections are adapted to fold toposition to form a handle for the receptacle, and means for connectingthe adjacent ends of the folded sections of the supporting legs torender them rigid to provide a handle for the receptacle.

3. A device of the class described comprising in combination, areceptacle, a guide mounted upon each end of the receptacle, asupporting leg slidably mounted in each of said guides, each of saidsupporting legs comprising two hinged sections, the combined length ofthe two upper sections being substantially equal to the length of thereceptacle whereby the said upper sections are adapted to fold toposition to form a handle for the receptacle, and means for connectingthe adjacent ends of the folded sections of the supporting legs torender them rigid to provide a handle for the receptacle, said meanscomprising a sleeve slidable upon said adjacent ends of the folded legsections and adapted to receive the free ends thereof.

4. A device of the class described comprising in combination, areceptacle, a tubular guide mounted upon each end of the receptacle, atube slidably mounted in each of said guides, means for holding saidtubular members against sliding movement relatively to the guides, asupporting leg carried by each of said tubular members, each of saidsupporting legs comprising two sections pivotally connected together andheld against pivotal movement by the tubular member in which they aremounted, but slidable therein to permit of folding one section of eachsupporting leg into parallelism with the top walls of the receptacle andin spaced relation thereto to provide a handle for the receptacle, andmeans for securing said supporting leg sections rigidly in their handleforming position.

5. A device of the character described comprising in combination, areceptacle, a plurality of supporting legs carried by the receptacle andfoldable with respect to said receptacle, and additional supportingmeans for supporting the receptacle froma human body, said lastmentioned means comprising an eye upon the outer face of one ofthe wallsof said receptacle, a body encircling belt, a rigid plate carried by thebody encircling belt, and a hook rigidly carried by the said rigid plateand having removable engagement with the afore-mentioned eye.

ALEXANDER B. COHN.

